Method for forming wool slivers



Sept. 24, 1963 J. G. WELLMAN METHOD FOR FORMING WOOL SLIVERS Filed Jan. 5, 1961 INVENTOR: J OH N G. WELLMAN ATTORNEYS Bygwbmm W 02 QQOOAW United States Patent Ofitice 3,lfid,42fi Patented Sept. 24-, 1963 The present invention relates to an improved method of processing wool stock and forming the same into slivers of parallel fibers and apparatus therefor.

When wool arrives at the processing plant, it is in fleece form with each individual fieece tied into a bundle. In fleece form, the wool has a high degree of parallelism of fibers. The first step in the processing of this raw wool is to grade the wool stock in each fleece into its respective grades and place the graded stock, or greasy wool as it is normally called, in several different storage places to wait for subsequent processing. The grading of the wool destroys some of the parallelism of the fibers but there is still a relatively high degree of parallelism retained.

In the past, it has been the practice to take the greasy wool stock and subject it to soap, scouring to clean the wool stock prior to further processing. The convenfional method or" scouring the wool stock is to have several different baths which a rake for transferring the wool stock from one bath to another until the wool stock is clean. During this scouring operation, a substantial amount of parallelism of the fibers is retained even though the action of the rakes in transferring the wool stock from one bath to another decreases it somewhat.

After the scouring operation, the wool stock was then dried and subjected to a carding operation to further clean the wool stock through the removal of burrs, dirt and other foreign matter therefrom. The parallelism of the fibers remaining in the wool stock after the scouring operation was completely destroyed during the carding operation. Also, a large number of fibers were broken and a large number of the shorter fibers were lost causing a substantial amount of card waste. Also, a large number of neps and entanglements were formed in the wool stock as the same was passed through the carding operation.

Another disadvantage of the carding operation was that some of the vegetable matter such as burrs and the like were crushed during the carding leaving a large amount of small vegetable matter embedded in the wool stock as the same came off the card. Also, due to the abrasive action of the teeth of the card on the fibers, some of the fibers would temporarily lose some of their natural crimp and become more brittle causing the same to become broken and to be removed as waste thereby resulting in increased loss and less yield. After the carding operation, the wool was passed through several other machines wherein the parallelism of the fibers was sought to be restored.

It will be apparent that the past method of processing wool stock was inefiicient and created a large amount of lost time and waste. The method of the present invention was developed to obviate the aforementioned deficiencies in the conventional methods of handling wool stock. The instant method eliminates the use of a card in the processing of Wool stock to sliver form with a consequent reduction in cost of equipment and in the arndiint of floor space needed. The instant method also reduces the number of steps required in the processing of wool stock to sliver form since a substantial amount of the original parallelization of the fibers is retained since the carding operation has been eliminated. Also, a greater staple length sliver is achieved since there is less breakage due to the elimination of the'carding step and also there is less loss of good staple fibers in the removal of foreign matter from the wool stock.

In the method of the present invention, there is more natural crimp retained in the fibers in sliver form than has heretofore been possible since there is an elimination of the abrasive action of the teeth of the card on individual fibers.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method of processing wool stock into sliver form and apparatus therefor wherein a substantial amount of the original parallelization of the wool fibers is retained thereby requiring less processing to achieve the desired degree of parallelization of the fibers.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of processing disarranged clumps of wool into sliver form while obviating the necessity of a conventional carding operation thereon by passing the wool through successive gilling operations which clean foreign matter from the wool while eliminating the breakage of wool fibers and removal of good fibers with the foreign matter which is so commonplace in a carding operation, to thereby substantially increase the yield of wool being processed. This gilling operation results in the clumps of wool being reduced to web form which is readily condensed into a sliver and additionally results in the fibers being parallelized to thereby facili-tate subsequent processing of the slivers.

Some of the objects of the invention having been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which FIGURE 1 is a schematic view of the steps of the method of the present invention with a pair of gil'ling machines arranged in tandem shown schematically;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal section taken substantially along line 22;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of one of the faller bars of the first gilling operation showing the course arrangement of the gilling pins depending therefrom; and

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the faller bar of the second gilling operation showing the finer arrangement of the gilling pins depending therefrom.

Referring now to the drawings, the wool stock is scoured in a manner well known in the art to remove the oil and some of the foreign matter therefrom. After scouring, the Wool stock is preferably dried in a conventional drying apparatus. The foregoing operations are well known in the art and form no part of the present invention except as they are necessary in the production of wool slivers.

As the wool stock leaves the drying operation, it is in the form of a plurality of disarranged clumps. The wool clumps are passed between a pair of rolls ll, 12 which calender the same. Rolls 11, 12 also feed the Wool clumps into a first .gilling machine 13 at a predetermined rate. Gilling machine 13 comprises a plurality of faller bars 14 having a plurality of gilling pins 15 mounted thereon in depending relationship. Pins 15 are coarsely arranged on each of the fallcr bars 14 with, preferably only 4 to 6 pins per inch being provided to permit the pins to initially comb the wool clumps without loading up or clogging.

In operation, the faller bars 14 move downwardly adjacent rolls 11, 12 carrying gilling pins 15 which enter the wool clumps and then move rearwardly or in the direction of feed of the wool clumps at a faster speed than the wool clumps such that gillin-g pins. 15 move through the wool clumps removing foreign matter therefrom and straightening and parallelizing some of the disarranged fibers thereof. At the rearward end of the gilling machine, taller bars 14 move upwardly carry g P 15 out of contact with the wool clumps. Then, taller bars 14 move forwardly or opposite to the direction of feed of the wool clumps'to begin another gill'ing stroke.

A set of rolls 2%, 21, 22 receive the Wool clumps from the gilling pins 15 and compress the same into a thick web and then preferably deliver the Web to a second set of rolls 23, 24 which receive the same there-between. Rolls 23, 24 calender the thick web and feed the same into a second gilling machine 25 arranged in tandem with the first gilling machine 13. It is contemplated that m some instances one of the sets of rolls may be omitted and the web fed directly from the remaining set of rolls into the gilling machine 25.

Gilling machine 25 comprises a plurality of faller bars 26 having a plurality of gilling pins 27 mounted thereon in depending relationship operating in a similar manner as faller bars 14 and gilling pins 15 of gilling machine 13 except that the gilling pins 27 are more finely or closely arranged on faller bars 26. Preferably the pins 27 are arranged with ll) to 15 pins per inch which results in more foreign matter being removed and more para-llelization of the fibers being achieved in gilling machine 25 than in gil-ling machine 13. Since some of the disarranged fibers in the wool clumps have previously been parallelized by the coarsely arranged pins 15 on faller bars 14- and the likelihood of loading up or clogging has therefore been reduced, this finer arrangement of pins 27 on faller bars 26 is permissible.

A set of rolls 30, 31, 32 receive the web from gill-ing pins 27 and compress the same into a thin Web. Rolls 39, 31, 32 then "deliver the thin web to a condensing guide 33 which condenses the thin web into silver form. A coiler head 34 receives the sliver from guide 33 and deposits it in a suitable receptacle 35.

It will be apparent that a novel method of processing disarranged clumps of wool into sliver form and apparatus therefor are provided wherein the necessity of conventional carding thereof is obviated with a consequent reduction in fiber break-age and loss which increases the yield of wool being processed. Also, the present method and apparatus provide a high degree of parallelization of fibers in the sliver since the inherent parallel relationship of the fibers in the clump-s is retained to a substantial degree prior to the fibers being fed through the gilling machines for further parallelization thereof. The degree of parallelization of the fibers in the sliver thus formed is considerably higher than in a conventionally formed card sliver thereby facilitating subsequent processing thereof.

In the drawings and specification, there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of illustration, the scope of the invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. The method of processing wool comprising the steps of feeding at a predetermined rate a mass of disarranged uncarded Wool clumps, which have previously been scoured and dried, into a gilling machine having pins operating at a faster speed than the mass of wool being fed thereto, gilling the substantially dry Wool mass passing therethrough to parallelize the fibers, delivering the gilled wool mass in web form, uninterruptedly feeding the formed web at a predetermined speed into a second gilling machine having gilling pins operating at a faster speed than the web being feed thereto, gilling the wool web passing therethrough to further parallelize the fibers, and forming the gilled web into a sliver.

2. The method of processing wool comprising the steps of compacting a mass of disarranged uncarded wool clumps, which have previously been scoured and dried, feeding the compacted substantially dry wool mass at a predetermined rate into a gilling machine having-coarsely arranged gilling pins operating at a faster speed than the wool mass being fed thereto, gilling the .woolmass passing therethrough to parallelize the fibers, delivering the gilled wool mass in web form, uninterruptedly feeding the web at a predetermined speed to a second gilling machine having a finer arrangement of gilling pins than the first machine and operating at a faster speed than the web being fed thereto, gillin g the Web passing thereth-rough to further parallelize the fibers, and forming the :gilled web into a sliver.

3. The method of processing wool comprising the steps of calendering a mass of disarranged uncarded Wool clumps, which have previously been scoured and drier],v

being fed thereto, gilling the wool web passing therethrough to further parallelize the fibers and forming the gilled web into. a sliver.

4. The method of processing wool comprising the steps of successively feeding and passing a mass of previously scoured, dried, disarranged, uncarded wool clumps through at least two 'gilling machines arranged in tandem and having gilling pins operating faster than the wool mass being fed thereto, coarsely gilling the substantially dry wool mass as it passes through the first gilling machine and finely gilling the wool mass as it passes through the second gilling machine to parallelize the fibers and form a web therefrom while maintaining said mass in a substantially straight uninterrupted path through and between the gilling machines, and condensing the formed web into sliver form.

5. The method of processing wool comprising the steps of calendering a mass of previously scoured, dried, disarranged, uncarded wool clumps, successively feeding and passing the calendered, substantially dry wool mass through at least two gilling machines arranged in tandem and having gilling pins operating faster than the wool mass being fed thereto, coarsely gilling the wool mass as y it passes through the first gilling machine, agaln calendering the wool mass between the two gilling machines, and finely 'gillin-g the wool mass as it passes through the second gilling machine to parallelize the fibers and form a web therefrom while maintaining said mass in a substantially straight uninterrupted path through and between the gilling machines, and condensing the web into sliver form.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 98,966 Holden Jan. 18, 1870 1,672,527 Heintze June 5, 1928 2,244,363 Holdsworth June 3, 1941 2,262,984 Abbott Nov. 18, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS V 846,447 France June 5, 1939 OTHER REFERENCES Processing Du Pont Nylon Staple on the Worsted Systern, Du Pont Bulletin N-32, November 1955.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent, No, 3 104M126 September 24, 1963 John G. Wellman pears in the above numbered pat- It is hereby certified that error ap d Letters Patent should read as ent requiring correction and that the sai corrected below.

Column l line 27 for "which" read with column 3.

line 3 L for "silver" read me sliver same column 3, line 69 and column l line 21 for "feed" each occurrence, read w fed Signed and sealed this 31st day of March 1964.

(SEAL) Attest: T l

ERNEST SWIDER EDWARD BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

3. THE METHOD OF PROCESSING WOOL COMPRISING THE STEPS OF CALENDERING A MASS OF DISARRANGED UNCARDED WOOL CLUMPS, WHICH HAVE PREVIOUSLY BEEN SCOURED AND DRIED, FEEDING THE CALENDERED, SUBSTANTIALLY DRY WOOL MASS AT A PREDETERMINED RATE INTO A GILLING MACHINE HAVING COARSELY ARRANGED GILLING PINS OPERATING AT A FASTER SPEED THAN THE WOOL MASS BEING FEED THERETO, GILLING THE WOOL MASS PASSING THERETHROUGH TO PARALLELIZE THE FIBERS, DELIVERING THE GILLED WOOL MASS IN WEB FORM, CALENDERING THE WEB DELIVERED BY THE GILLING MACHINE, FEEDING THE CALENDERED WEB AT A PEDETERMINED SPEED INTO A SECOND GILLING MACHINE HAVING A FINER ARRANGEMENT OF GILLING PINS THAN THE FIRST MACHINE AND OPERATING AT A FASTER SPEED THAN THE WEB 